The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson, and the Knights will receive the Path to Peace Award this October.
The Path to Peace Foundation was founded in 1991 to support the work of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations.
The President of the Foundation, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, will be presenting the 2016 Path to Peace Award to the Knights of Columbus and Anderson, for their life-saving work on behalf of Christians and other persecuted minorities in the Middle East and for their humanitarian work throughout the world.
“Through the Supreme Knight’s vigorous leadership, the Knights of Columbus not only has been responding to the cries for help coming from the Middle East and elsewhere but used their resources to put together a compelling 300-page report on the violence against Christians in the Middle East that compelled U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to declare what was happening to Christians, Yezidis and other religious minorities in the region a genocide,” said Archbishop Auza.
“Mr. Anderson also brought that message to the United Nations at a Holy See sponsored conference in April, urging the international community to exercise its Responsibility to Protect and stop the genocide and other violent attacks against defenseless people taking place there,” Archbishop Auza added.
“The Path to Peace Board of Directors wanted to acknowledge the Knights’ powerful leadership in seeking to help restore peace in the region ravaged by ISIS, assist the victims to get their lives back to together and to create the necessary conditions for peace.”
Since this year’s Gala Dinner coincides with the 25th Anniversary of the incorporation of the Path to Peace Foundation, there will also be special recognition given to His Eminence Cardinal Renato Martino, whose work as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN from 1986-2002 led to the creation of the Foundation to support and advance the Mission’s efforts.
Past recipients of the Path to Peace Award include UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1993), His Majesty King Baudoin I of Belgium (1994), President Corazon C. Aquino of the Philippines (1995), President Lech Walesa of Poland (1996), President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1997), President Rafael Caldera of Venezuela (1998), President Carlos Saul Menem (2000), Secretary General Kofi Annan (2000), Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein (2001), Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha of Bulgaria (2002), President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão (2003), Cardinal Angelo Sodano (2004), Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta Fra Andrew Bertie (2005), Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg (2006), President of the 61st Session of the General Assembly Sheika Haya Rashed Al Khalifa (2007), President Elias Antonio Saca Gonzalez of El Salvador (2008), Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq (2009), U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Mary Ann Glendon (2010), Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta Fra Matthew Festing (2011), Queen Sofia of Spain (2014), and Princess Haya Bint Al-Hussein of Dubai (2015).
The President of the Foundation, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, will be presenting the 2016 Path to Peace Award to the Knights of Columbus and Anderson, for their life-saving work on behalf of Christians and other persecuted minorities in the Middle East and for their humanitarian work throughout the world.
“Through the Supreme Knight’s vigorous leadership, the Knights of Columbus not only has been responding to the cries for help coming from the Middle East and elsewhere but used their resources to put together a compelling 300-page report on the violence against Christians in the Middle East that compelled U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to declare what was happening to Christians, Yezidis and other religious minorities in the region a genocide,” said Archbishop Auza.
“Mr. Anderson also brought that message to the United Nations at a Holy See sponsored conference in April, urging the international community to exercise its Responsibility to Protect and stop the genocide and other violent attacks against defenseless people taking place there,” Archbishop Auza added.
“The Path to Peace Board of Directors wanted to acknowledge the Knights’ powerful leadership in seeking to help restore peace in the region ravaged by ISIS, assist the victims to get their lives back to together and to create the necessary conditions for peace.”
Since this year’s Gala Dinner coincides with the 25th Anniversary of the incorporation of the Path to Peace Foundation, there will also be special recognition given to His Eminence Cardinal Renato Martino, whose work as Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN from 1986-2002 led to the creation of the Foundation to support and advance the Mission’s efforts.
Past recipients of the Path to Peace Award include UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1993), His Majesty King Baudoin I of Belgium (1994), President Corazon C. Aquino of the Philippines (1995), President Lech Walesa of Poland (1996), President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1997), President Rafael Caldera of Venezuela (1998), President Carlos Saul Menem (2000), Secretary General Kofi Annan (2000), Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein (2001), Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha of Bulgaria (2002), President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão (2003), Cardinal Angelo Sodano (2004), Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta Fra Andrew Bertie (2005), Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg (2006), President of the 61st Session of the General Assembly Sheika Haya Rashed Al Khalifa (2007), President Elias Antonio Saca Gonzalez of El Salvador (2008), Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq (2009), U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Mary Ann Glendon (2010), Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta Fra Matthew Festing (2011), Queen Sofia of Spain (2014), and Princess Haya Bint Al-Hussein of Dubai (2015).
